2011-09-10 - Noah

Patience Series ~ Part 2

Noah was a good man living in evil times. God was so grieved by man's wickedness,
that He decided to "wipe mankind, which I created, from
the face of the Earth..." (Genesis 6:7, NIV) But then God remembered
Noah, who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis
6:8) In fact, Genesis 6:9 tells us that
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people
of his time, and he walked with God." Then, God told Noah of His plans
to put an end to the wicked people on the Earth. And God instructed Noah
to build an ark.

Noah was tasked with building a huge ark. This ship was to be 450 feet long,
75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. He was to build three decks. In Noah's time,
this was a large undertaking. Noah would build the ark with primitive tools
and manual labor. The construction of the ark must have taken a long time.
Noah devoted himself to the task. Noah demonstrated great patience in his
efforts. His survival depended on his diligence.

Once Noah collected the animals and his family into the ark, God sent to
great flood which covered the Earth. The only living creatures were in the
ark that Noah had built. Genesis 7:24 says that
"The waters flooded the Earth for a hundred and fifty
days." Noah had listened to God. He had built the ark, collected the
animals, and taken refuge in the great ship. Now Noah had to wait. He waited
for God to dry up the waters. He was stuck inside the ark with a boat full
of smelly animals. Noah had to be patient. He couldn't change things himself.
He had to wait on God.

I think we can learn several things from Noah's example. First, we are to
be patient while we are working for God. And, second, we are to be patient
while we are waiting on God to accomplish His works. God will accomplish
His tasks in His time. We are to patiently wait with faith in Him.